Meadville man continues to fight battle of the bridge

Denis Alexatos of Meadville is shown in early March. He's standing near the Mead Avenue Bridge, located next to his home in Vernon Township. The bridge has been closed since 2007. Officials from Crawford county plan to replace the bridge but expect to condem his property, which is located a few feet from the bridge. Alexatos has called a public meeting for Tuesday night, March 25, to air his concerns. JIM MARTIN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

MEADVILLE -- Denis Alexatos said it was a blow to his pocketbook when the 140-year-old Mead Avenue Bridge closed in 2007.

Alexatos, who lives and operates his business, Vernon Construction, on the western bank of French Creek, spent years lobbying for Crawford County to replace the bridge, located just three or four steps from his front door.

Alexatos said he lost both commercial and residential tenants when the traffic stopped flowing across the Mead Avenue Bridge.

But now, with the bridge scheduled to be rebuilt in fall, Alexatos said he finds himself facing a whole new set of problems.

He said Crawford County commissioners have signaled plans to condemn his 17,000-square-foot property that sits on about three-quarters of an acre on Cussewago Road. Engineers have determined that the new, larger bridge can't safely be built so close to his home.

An appraiser working for the county has valued his property at $395,000. Alexatos figures it's worth closer to $1 million, and he said he's prepared to fight the condemnation process in court.

The next step in his fight comes Tuesday at 5 p.m. He's invited a long list of public officials to hear his thoughts about an alternative to the multimillion-dollar county bridge that would be funded with a combination of federal and state money.

Alexatos said he's met with engineers from a company that builds pre-engineered modular bridges. A span large enough to cross French Creek would cost a little more than $1 million, he said.

Bill Petit, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation district executive for northwestern Pennsylvania, is quick to acknowledge the bridge the county planned, which will be funded with money funneled through PennDOT, will cost substantially more at about $7.1 million.

But there are important differences in the two bridges, said Petit and Brian Yedinak, assistant district executive for design.

"The bridge that has been proposed doesn't meet all of the federal and state standards and it doesn't support pedestrian movements," Petit said. "It is also a bridge that doesn't have the same service life of the bridge the county would build."

More specifically, Yedinak said, "The proposed bridge (suggested by Alexatos) is fracture critical. If a truck would strike the end of it the whole bridge could collapse."

Yedinak, who has met several times with Alexatos, said he understands his concerns, and plans to attend Tuesday's meeting.

Alexatos said he'll leave if he's forced to vacate the property, but he's still holding out hope that he can change the views of the county commissioners, who were in meetings Friday and couldn't be reached for comment.

"We tried to get this bridge in there for seven years," Alexatos said. "I didn't think they were going to take my property when they finally did."

JIM MARTIN can be reached at 870-1668 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmartin.